Child&#39;s garment with expandable crotch



- June 19, 1962 J. E. JOSEPH- CHILD'S GARMENT WITH EXPANDABLE CROTCH Filed Feb. 16, 1960 INVENTOR: JEAN E. JOSEPH United States Patent 3,039,111 CHILDS GARMENT WITH EXPANDABLE CROTCH Jean E. Joseph, 6 Rutland Road, Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y. Filed Feb. 16, 19%, Ser. No. 8,989 2 Claims. (Cl. 2-80) This invention relates to garments for children and more particularly to garments of the type having a body portion and depending leg portions, such as for example, overalls.

Due to the rapid growth of small children it is common for them to outgrow their clothing before it is outworn. In the case of garments adapted to cover the legs and lower torso of the child, the waist, the leg length, and the crotch region are commonly outgrown rapidly. It has been the practice to provide childrens garments with various means for enlarging waistbands and lengthening leg regions, but prior attempts to provide a really practical crotch enlargement have not been successful.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an article of wearing apparel having an expandable crotch region which is comfortable and neat in appearance in both the folded and expanded condition of the crotch. Toward this end, the present garment includes an elliptical insert or gusset of special character in the crotch region. Where the invention is employed in a garment having a line of separable fasteners along its lower edge, to facilitate changing of the childs diaper, this elliptical insert may take the form of an extension fastened to the lower edge of the rear portion of the garment body.

In accordance with the invention the gusset or extension is folded longitudinally to form a two-ply flap and the plies of the flap are fastened together by a temporary stitch which is readily removable when desired. While the stitch is in use, the gusset or extension is maintained in folded condition, and the flap formed thereby is pressed against the inside of the garment thus leaving the comfort and appearance of the garment unimpaired. When the crotch area becomes too small for the child, the temporary stitch is removed so that the gusset can expand or unfold to enlarge the crotch region. As a result, the still serviceable but outgrown garment may be worn for a further period of time.

In order to prevent the gusset or extension from sagging when in expanded condition, it is provided with an upwardly and inwardly arched supporting rib. To form this rib, the flap, which has an arcuate inner edge, is provided with a permanent row of stitching closely adjacent to that edge. Consequently, when the gusset expands, the material above the stitching remains folded and forms the supporting rib.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is front elevational view of a garment chosen to illustrate the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of the crotch region of the garment shown in FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale, with the gusset or extension in folded condition;

FIG, 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the gussset or extension in expanded condition;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view showing the appearance of the folded gusset while the garment is being worn.

The garment chosen to illustrate the invention is a childs overalls, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. Such overalls are generally fabricated from a pair of side members 11 and 12 joined by a front seam. 13 and a rear seam 14 to form the body portion of the garment. For convenience, the body portion will be referred to as having a front 18 and a rear 19. Depending from the body portion of the garment 10 is a pair of leg portions 20. The inner and upper parts of the leg portions 20 converge, as usual, at the lower end of the body portion to form the crotch region of the garment. The overalls illustrated are of the type wherein the leg portions and crotchregion may be opened in order to facilitate changing the childs diaper.

The crotch region of the garment is provided with a generally elliptical gusset 21 of special character and purpose. The gusset has opposed front and rear convex edges, 24 and 25 respectively, which converge at the pointed ends of the gusset. As mentioned before, the gusset may be thought of as an extension of the rear 19 of the garment body, since the rear convex edge 25 of the gusset is permanently secured to the lower edge of the rear 19, as by stitching 26. In order that the leg portions 20 and the crotch region of the garment may be opened and closed conveniently, they are provided with separable fastening means comprising two lines of cooperable fasteners, such as the snaps 27. One line of snaps extends along the front convex edge 24 of the gusset and down the inside of each of the leg portions, and the other line of snaps extends along the lower edge of the front 18 of the body portion and down the inside of the legs. Fasteners other than snaps, but of equivalent character, may obviously be employed.

When the garment 10 is made, the gusset 21 is folded longitudinally to form -a two-ply flap 28. The plies 31 and 32 of the flap are joined along a longitudinal line extending between the ends of the gusset, by a temporary stitch 33 which is of a kind that is readily removable when desired. The flap 28 is pressed against the inside surface of the garment, as may be seen in FIG. 6, so as to conform to the contour thereof. As a result, the comfort of the garment is unaffected by the presence of the flap, and since the fiap is not externally visible it does not mar the appearance of the garment. The plies 31 and 32 are also joined closely adjacent to the inner arcuate edge 34 of the flap 28 by the permanent stitching 35.

If it is chosen to make the gusset out of woven fabric, then it is preferable to have the grain of the fabric arranged at an acute angle to the major axis of the gusset. This condition permits the gusset fabric to expand longitudinally and laterally as the wearer walks and sits, and thus adds to the comfort of the garment.

When the child has grown so that the crotch region of the garment is tight fitting, this area may be enlarged merely by removing the temporary stitch 33 joining the plies of the flap 28. As a result the gusset or extension 21 can unfold or expand into the condition shown in FIG. 4. The garment is thus enlarged and may be worn for a further period of time.

Since the gusset in its expanded condition might conceivably have a tendency to sag and thus impair the ap pearance of the garment, a means for supporting the expanded gusset is provided. This is a supporting rib 34a (see FIG. 5) which comprises the stitching 35 and the material of the gusset above the stitching which forms the edge 34 of the flap 28. Because of the arcuate shape of the arcuate shape of the edge 34 of the flap, the rib 34a will have an inwardly and upwardly arched contour. As a result the gusset is held upwardly arched rather than being permitted to sag.

It will be appreciated therefore that a garment constructed according to the teachings of the present invention may be worn over an extended period of time despite the rapid growth of the child. At the same time the garment is always neat in appearance and comfortable. Expandable means at the waist, and for lengthening the legs or other parts of the garment, may also be provided It will be understood that many of the details herein described and illustrated maybe modified by those skilled in the art without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Except as otherwise stated, therefore, it is intended that these details be interpreted as being illustrative only.

What is claimed is:

1. In a childs garment comprising a body portion having front and rear panels, and leg portions depending therefrom, said garment being of the type wherein the lower ends of said panels and the inside seams of each leg portion are sep arably joined to permit the lower portion of the garment to be opened and withdrawn from the legs and lower torso of the child without necessitating the removal of the garment from the child,

an elliptical fabric extension having convex front and rear edges converging at their ends, the rear convex edge being permanently secured to the lower end of said rear panel of the body portion between said leg portions, said extension being folded longitudinally to form a two-ply flap which projects into said garment, a readily removable stitch disposed along a line extending between the ends of said extension and serving to temporarily join the two plies of said flap, said stitch being spaced from the convex edges of said extension, and separable fastening means for separably joining said panels and the inside seams of said leg portions, said means comprising two lines of cooperable fasteners, one line extending along the lower end edge of said front panel of said body and down the leg portion at each side, and the other line extending along the front convex edge of said extension and down the leg portion at each side.

2. A childs garment according to claim 1 wherein said flap has a straight line base coincident with said readily removable stitch extending between the ends of said exten sion and an arcuate folded edge which meets the base at the ends of said extension, and including a row of permanent stitching adjacent to said folded arcuate edge joining the plies of said flap whereby when said removable stitch is removed to permit expansion of said extension the portion of said extension above said permanent stitching forms an inwardly and upwardly arched supporting rib.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

